Fish Oil Acne

Acne can be extremely embarrassing and psychologically debilitating. When I was younger, I actually had quite a bit of acne that really embarrassed me. I’d do all kinds of things such as wash my face five times a day, swab with alcohol pads, I even bought some special acne medication that was “proven to cure acne”.

However, it wasn’t until I started to clean up my diet and incorporate fish oil, did my acne clear up for good. I came across a couple websites with user reviews claiming that taking fish oil caused some type of fish oil acne, but that never happened to me. Actually, quite the opposite!

After doing some research, I’ve come across a few ways that fish oil actually helps to fight acne and other facial blemishes.

Here are few ways fish oil helps:

• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in fish oil has been shown to regulate over- production of androgens. Androgens are hormones that can lead to oil production.
• Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) are anti- inflammatory in nature and may reduce the redness and swelling of acne and other facial blemishes.
• Fish oil can increase the hydration of skin cells improving the texture and smoothness of skin.
• Fish oil has been shown to elevate mood and decrease depression which in turn leads to an overall healthier body. Try not to stress about your acne!
• Can possibly reduce the overall size of the sebaceous gland, reducing sebum production, which can lead to acne.

Lets examine a few of the possible fish oil acne benefits listed above. I think we can all agree that acne is a type of inflammation, skin inflammation in particular. It only makes sense to take fish oil, due to their anti-inflammatory properties. But what causes the inflammation in the first place? Its really difficult to say, as individuals differ across the board, but one thing is clear. Omega-6 fatty acids (vegetable oil, canola oil, nut oils, etc.) are inflammatory in nature. Now I’m not suggesting that we replace all omega-6 fatty acids with fish oil. However, I believe that a balanced fat intake is crucial for overall health, and this includes skin health.

If you have ever had the pleasure of examining the skin of a native Japanese islander or an Alaskan Inuit, you will notice they have very smooth and blemish free skin. Maybe not by coincidence, these populations eat a diet that is very high in omega-3 fatty acids, seafood that is naturally high the same beneficial fat that is found is fish oil supplements. They don’t have problems with fish oil acne.  However, their diets are also very low in trans-fat and high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Summary:

If you are not currently taking fish oil as part of your daily diet, that I’d advice you to give it a shot. It has helped my skin a ton. Whenever I forget to take fish oil for a few days, I immediately notice much of my skin becomes dryer. You may be thinking, “dry is good if you have acne”, but in actuality, dry skin actually signals for more oil production!